Offensive Comparison
In the highly-anticipated upcoming matchup between the Yellowknife Wraiths and the Colorado Yeti, all eyes are on the teams' passing game, led by wide receivers Kendrick Hendrix for the Yeti and Josh Garden for the Wraiths. Josh Garden is all about size and speed, standing at 6'3" and a lean 225lbs he is one of the larger receivers in the NSFL compared to Colorado's Hendrix, a polished route runner, at 6'1" and a hair over 200lbs. Both players are lightning fast with good reliable hands, although Hendrix gets the edge there. Garden on the other hand is much stronger, as his larger frame would indicate, and somewhat surprisingly a bit more nimble on his feet.
When it comes to performance on the field Josh Garden led the league in receiving yards, was second in yards per catch, and second in touchdowns scored. While Hendrix lagged well behind in all off those statistics, it is telling to note he has done so while sharing a larger portion of the catches in an offense that passes less. Most experts expect Garden to come out on top in this matchup, but don't sleep on the Yeti's passing attack and the hands of Kendrick Hendrix.
Defensive Comparison
In the first playoff matchup of the inaugural NSFL season the fledgling league's hottest rivalry between Arizona and Orange County will have a chance to hit a boiling point as fans come to watch two of the league's most electric defenses face off in a battle for the Solis Cup. Arizona's defense has relied on big impact plays, they lead the league in interceptions, sacks, and tackles for loss. Meanwhile in Orange County they play old school ball, keep the yards, the touchdowns, and the first downs limited and win with field position.
The two biggest impact players of these polar-opposite defenses are Jayce Tuck and Adamle Tomlinson, both at defensive end. Tuck has led the league thus far in sacks and tied for second in tackles for loss and is considered by many to be the favorite for defensive MVP of the year. His combination of strength and speed is hard to stop. However on the Orange County side don't sleep on Tomlinson. The smaller, faster rusher lacks the raw power of Tuck, but has still managed to excel in producing tackles for a loss. And when Tomlinson gets on fire, get out of the way as his 5 sack performance set a record for single game performance during the regular season. And with Tuck set to face off against Angus Winchester he could find himself missing from the stat sheet for the second time this year.
Bottom Third
After having high hopes for their squad at the beginning of the season things are suddenly starting to look very gloomy in Baltimore. What happened to the elite team assembled by the Hawks on draft day? What caused their tumble throughout the regular season, culminating in an embarrassing loss on the road to a San Jose team that was the worst in the league for most of the season? The answer, is defense.
Baltimore has the worst defense in the league by far. Sure they have a decent amount of tackles for loss and interceptions. But the thing causing headaches for the head coach and the reason the defensive coordinator is updating his resume is their yards and touchdowns allowed. All throughout the season Baltimore has continually allowed the most yards to their opponents, and given up by far the most touchdowns. last night's game against San Jose highlighted this weakness as the Sabercat offense marched down the field time and time again, driving the ball into the endzone and driving fans out of their seats. There are a lot of uncertainties headed into this offseason with two expansion teams in the hunt for talent, but one thing is for sure, the Hawks need to spend their first few picks on defense if they want to compete in the NSFL.
Future Talent
After a shocking amount of players joined the NSFL more than halfway through the season there are plenty of young talented men looking to take the field in the playoffs to prove they are worth the big contract in this offseason. One such player who is currently flying below the radar but can expected to come up big for his team is offensive lineman Jordan Yates. Yates was one of the most recent players to be claimed off of the waiver wire, and has only played in 4 games this season. During that time he has found some struggles (understandably) and only managed 7 pancakes blocks, but has also only given up one sack, no small feat given his disadvantage against more seasoned players.
Yates' addition was the final piece of the puzzle for what was already the best offensive line in the league, which led in pancake blocks and allowed the fewest sacks. By replacing the ever-under-performing Bigboy in the interior of line the Otters instantly started giving up fewer sacks per game to defensive lineman. And with a strong blocking tight end on the edge in George Wright and the 260lb monster of a running back Leroy Jenkins there to catch any blitzers sneaking through his gap Yates has found himself excelling among the most elite unit in the league while bringing their play to even higher levels. Although his lack of experience means he won't be the first lineman off the board, Yates will be a critical piece to any team looking to win in the trenches.
Playoff Predictions
In the exciting ASFC Championship game, the battle for the Solis Cup fans are preparing for a grinder of a game coming from two of the most highly regarded teams in the NSFL, the Arizona Outlaws and the Orange County Otters. Having shut out Orange County all season Arizona had high confidence about the playoffs until last night's game showed the Otters can in fact beat the Outlaws when they play at the same game, forcing turnovers. For this playoff game held on Arizona's home turf we can expect a low yardage game being led by two dominating defenses generating sacks, fumbles, and interceptions all over the field. The Outlaws passing game lights up the Otters secondary while the Otters grind the ball out on the ground, with Leroy Jenkins and Omar Wright gashing the Outlaws for high gains. The Outlaws will come out swinging and lead most of the game, but in the final minutes the Otters will build momentum from some big defensive plays and seal the deal with a goal line touchdown by Leroy Jenkins. Otters 17-13
In the battle for the NSFC Championship the Yellowknife Wraiths travel to Colorado to face off against the Yeti in what everybody expects to be a high scoring shootout in the mountains. Led by Joshua Garden and Bubba Nuck the Wraiths will keep their foot on the gas all night as Colorado's defense struggles to contain them. Colorado will hit back with Noble channeling his inner Aaron Rodgers, throwing deep bomb passes and shredding the Yellowknife secondary. As the lead battles back and forth through the first half the Wraiths pull away in the second half and don't give it back up as Nuck pounds the ball away, eating up the clock and securing a win. Wraiths 30 - 20
And in the Championship match, the battle for the coveted Ultimus Cup, the fans get what they've wanted all season, a battle of South vs North as the Yellowknife Wraiths electric offense faces the Orange County Otters stonewall defense. The shoe-in league MVP, Bubba Nuck has shredded every defense he met, except Orange County. The league's leading rushing defense has shut down the Wraiths rushing attack and will continue that tradition in the postseason. Joshua Garden will find room in the secondary for his traditional explosive plays. But the real hero of this game will be Mike Boss. His high-profile struggles this season have led many to question his ability to succeed in the NSFL. But as he leads the Otters to touchdown after touchdown, connecting with his receivers all over the Yellowknife secondary, Boss will come out with a 110+ passer rating, zero interceptions, and 3 passing TDs and be the Championship Matchup MVP. Otters 34 - 20
In the highly-anticipated upcoming matchup between the Yellowknife Wraiths and the Colorado Yeti, all eyes are on the teams' passing game, led by wide receivers Kendrick Hendrix for the Yeti and Josh Garden for the Wraiths. Josh Garden is all about size and speed, standing at 6'3" and a lean 225lbs he is one of the larger receivers in the NSFL compared to Colorado's Hendrix, a polished route runner, at 6'1" and a hair over 200lbs. Both players are lightning fast with good reliable hands, although Hendrix gets the edge there. Garden on the other hand is much stronger, as his larger frame would indicate, and somewhat surprisingly a bit more nimble on his feet.
When it comes to performance on the field Josh Garden led the league in receiving yards, was second in yards per catch, and second in touchdowns scored. While Hendrix lagged well behind in all off those statistics, it is telling to note he has done so while sharing a larger portion of the catches in an offense that passes less. Most experts expect Garden to come out on top in this matchup, but don't sleep on the Yeti's passing attack and the hands of Kendrick Hendrix.
Defensive Comparison
In the first playoff matchup of the inaugural NSFL season the fledgling league's hottest rivalry between Arizona and Orange County will have a chance to hit a boiling point as fans come to watch two of the league's most electric defenses face off in a battle for the Solis Cup. Arizona's defense has relied on big impact plays, they lead the league in interceptions, sacks, and tackles for loss. Meanwhile in Orange County they play old school ball, keep the yards, the touchdowns, and the first downs limited and win with field position.
The two biggest impact players of these polar-opposite defenses are Jayce Tuck and Adamle Tomlinson, both at defensive end. Tuck has led the league thus far in sacks and tied for second in tackles for loss and is considered by many to be the favorite for defensive MVP of the year. His combination of strength and speed is hard to stop. However on the Orange County side don't sleep on Tomlinson. The smaller, faster rusher lacks the raw power of Tuck, but has still managed to excel in producing tackles for a loss. And when Tomlinson gets on fire, get out of the way as his 5 sack performance set a record for single game performance during the regular season. And with Tuck set to face off against Angus Winchester he could find himself missing from the stat sheet for the second time this year.
Bottom Third
After having high hopes for their squad at the beginning of the season things are suddenly starting to look very gloomy in Baltimore. What happened to the elite team assembled by the Hawks on draft day? What caused their tumble throughout the regular season, culminating in an embarrassing loss on the road to a San Jose team that was the worst in the league for most of the season? The answer, is defense.
Baltimore has the worst defense in the league by far. Sure they have a decent amount of tackles for loss and interceptions. But the thing causing headaches for the head coach and the reason the defensive coordinator is updating his resume is their yards and touchdowns allowed. All throughout the season Baltimore has continually allowed the most yards to their opponents, and given up by far the most touchdowns. last night's game against San Jose highlighted this weakness as the Sabercat offense marched down the field time and time again, driving the ball into the endzone and driving fans out of their seats. There are a lot of uncertainties headed into this offseason with two expansion teams in the hunt for talent, but one thing is for sure, the Hawks need to spend their first few picks on defense if they want to compete in the NSFL.
Future Talent
After a shocking amount of players joined the NSFL more than halfway through the season there are plenty of young talented men looking to take the field in the playoffs to prove they are worth the big contract in this offseason. One such player who is currently flying below the radar but can expected to come up big for his team is offensive lineman Jordan Yates. Yates was one of the most recent players to be claimed off of the waiver wire, and has only played in 4 games this season. During that time he has found some struggles (understandably) and only managed 7 pancakes blocks, but has also only given up one sack, no small feat given his disadvantage against more seasoned players.
Yates' addition was the final piece of the puzzle for what was already the best offensive line in the league, which led in pancake blocks and allowed the fewest sacks. By replacing the ever-under-performing Bigboy in the interior of line the Otters instantly started giving up fewer sacks per game to defensive lineman. And with a strong blocking tight end on the edge in George Wright and the 260lb monster of a running back Leroy Jenkins there to catch any blitzers sneaking through his gap Yates has found himself excelling among the most elite unit in the league while bringing their play to even higher levels. Although his lack of experience means he won't be the first lineman off the board, Yates will be a critical piece to any team looking to win in the trenches.
Playoff Predictions
In the exciting ASFC Championship game, the battle for the Solis Cup fans are preparing for a grinder of a game coming from two of the most highly regarded teams in the NSFL, the Arizona Outlaws and the Orange County Otters. Having shut out Orange County all season Arizona had high confidence about the playoffs until last night's game showed the Otters can in fact beat the Outlaws when they play at the same game, forcing turnovers. For this playoff game held on Arizona's home turf we can expect a low yardage game being led by two dominating defenses generating sacks, fumbles, and interceptions all over the field. The Outlaws passing game lights up the Otters secondary while the Otters grind the ball out on the ground, with Leroy Jenkins and Omar Wright gashing the Outlaws for high gains. The Outlaws will come out swinging and lead most of the game, but in the final minutes the Otters will build momentum from some big defensive plays and seal the deal with a goal line touchdown by Leroy Jenkins. Otters 17-13
In the battle for the NSFC Championship the Yellowknife Wraiths travel to Colorado to face off against the Yeti in what everybody expects to be a high scoring shootout in the mountains. Led by Joshua Garden and Bubba Nuck the Wraiths will keep their foot on the gas all night as Colorado's defense struggles to contain them. Colorado will hit back with Noble channeling his inner Aaron Rodgers, throwing deep bomb passes and shredding the Yellowknife secondary. As the lead battles back and forth through the first half the Wraiths pull away in the second half and don't give it back up as Nuck pounds the ball away, eating up the clock and securing a win. Wraiths 30 - 20
And in the Championship match, the battle for the coveted Ultimus Cup, the fans get what they've wanted all season, a battle of South vs North as the Yellowknife Wraiths electric offense faces the Orange County Otters stonewall defense. The shoe-in league MVP, Bubba Nuck has shredded every defense he met, except Orange County. The league's leading rushing defense has shut down the Wraiths rushing attack and will continue that tradition in the postseason. Joshua Garden will find room in the secondary for his traditional explosive plays. But the real hero of this game will be Mike Boss. His high-profile struggles this season have led many to question his ability to succeed in the NSFL. But as he leads the Otters to touchdown after touchdown, connecting with his receivers all over the Yellowknife secondary, Boss will come out with a 110+ passer rating, zero interceptions, and 3 passing TDs and be the Championship Matchup MVP. Otters 34 - 20
![[Image: XSfVUgo.png]](https://i.imgur.com/XSfVUgo.png)
Hank Winchester (S25 - Current) - Scrub
Angus Winchester (S1-S12) - 4x Ultimus Champ - #2 Career Sacks - Hall of Fame
Cooter Bigsby (S14-S23) - S23 Ultimus Champ - #4 Career Yards - #4 Career TDs - 2x MVP - Hall of Fame
